Books are part of the family

Childhood treasures

Christy Chase / Metroland

OSHAWA -- Some of the books I've kept from my childhood. 'Rascal', the brown book on the right, was a Christmas present from my parents. 'Geraldine Belinda', the red book, was a gift from my sister Colleen and was one of my favourites as a child. February 5, 2012

My dad, mom and three older sisters all read so it was no surprise that I too became a lover of books. And while I had a big family (add my younger brother in there, too), I found an even bigger family in books.

My first memory of reading came before first grade (no kindergarten in my school back then) and it's of reading a book (probably The Cat in the Hat) at my friend Merebeth's house.

During my childhood years, my family grew to include The Happy Hollisters, the Bobbsey Twins, Trixie Belden, Cherry Ames and Nancy Drew. Almost all of these series were about people solving mysteries. All but Cherry Ames, a nurse, were children or teens.

And that's probably why one of my favourite genres today is mysteries or crime novels.

But it wasn't all mysteries that I read as a child. Other favourite books include The Secret Garden, Alice in Wonderland, Anne of Green Gables, Little Women, Winnie-the-Pooh and Rascal. The last book was a Christmas present from my parents and I've still got it.

In fact, I've still got quite a few of those books on my bookshelves, along with some of the children's and teen novels I acquired years later when I took a children's literature course in university. There were a lot of books to read in that course, affectionately called kiddy litter, but they sure were a lot easier to get through than most university books.

Speaking of children's books, two local authors have something to celebrate.

Bill Swan's book about Steven Truscott, Real Justice: Fourteen and Sentenced to Death, is nominated in the Red Maple category (Grades 7-8) of the Forest of Reading program of the Ontario Library Association. It's one of 10 books in that category. Another book, Real Justice: Convicted of Being Mi'kmaq, about Donald Marshall, is due out soon.

(By the way, Metroland Durham crime reporter, Jeff Mitchell, wrote a book in the Real Justice series, Young, Innocent and In Prison, about Robert Baltovich.)

Wesley King, of Oshawa, and his debut novel, The Vindico, are also nominated in the Red Maple category. He's busy promoting his book in schools throughout Durham and the rest of the province. The Feros, a sequel to the super-villian themed novel, will be released in June.

The winning book in the Red Maple category will be chosen in May, after voting by students who read five or more of the books.

-- Christy Chase is a copy editor at Metroland Media Group Durham Region Division. She's currently reading The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny, one of her favourite authors. You can reach Christy at cchase@durhamregion.com or on Twitter @commacontrol. Read her blog, Comma Control, at http://www.durhamregion.com/listing/blog